REMNANTS of the Colne and Trawden Light Railway, last used in the 1930s, will be restored and could become part of the Trawden Conservation Area.

Councillors agreed with planning officers that the Trawden Tram Tracks were worthy of preservation.

They recommended that the Environmental Action Group be invited to clean up the tracks and undertake any necessary small repairs.

The councillors also asked for the tracks and other remains of the light railway to be considered through the conservation area designation process and for the parish council to be involved in whatever action was taken.

The Tram Tracks, like the Snake Walk from Colne to Cotton Tree, was a private track built to bypass roads too steep for trams.

It was built from stone setts and remains a source of fascination and interest to many local people, with only a few parts in need of repair.

The line was first used by a trial tram in 1905 and the rails on the Trawden track remained intact until about 1942.

The main problem today is from grass growing over the setts.

Councillor David Robertson said: "More and more people have become concerned that the tracks are preserved.

"It is a really good straight run from the bottom where the intersection is near the Rock Hotel and well worth preserving."